Tag: Harrison Butker

Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides injury updates ahead of Wednesday practice

#Chiefs K Harrison Butker will practice in some capacity on Wednesday, but three other players will sit out to start the practice week.

Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided his usual pre-practice injury update on Wednesday.

The Chiefs managed to escape the Week 3 game with the Colts without any new injuries, which was one of the silver linings in the defeat. They’ll still have a trio of players out of practice to start the week, but they’ll also have one very important piece returning to practice in some capacity.

“As far as the injuries go, Michael Danna won’t practice today with a calf,” Reid began. “Mecole Hardman has a heel contusion that he’s been battling through. We’re going to sit him down today. I think he’s going to be OK, but we’re going to rest him today. Ronald Jones is sick today, we’re going to send him home and get him out of here.”

It’s unfortunate that Jones won’t practice, as he will be facing his former team this week.

Danna didn’t play in Week 3 and this is the fourth practice he’s missed since his injury. Hardman did try to tough out his injury in Week 3, but Reid said it may have impacted him a bit.

“I think the heel was affecting him a little bit this past week,” Reid said of Hardman. “Up to that point, I thought he was playing fast and running the stuff he was supposed to run and doing that.”

One player who was also impacted by an injury in Week 3 was LT Orlando Brown Jr., who was dealing with a knee issue. Brown Jr. will practice on Wednesday.

“I think it was bugging him a little bit last week,” Reid said of Brown Jr.’s knee. “But listen, like I said, we can all do better. He’s a pretty single-minded, focused individual. He’ll keep up his work, work hard, working to get better.”

As for the player returning to practice, Chiefs K Harrison Butker will be back out there to start the week. Expect it to be in a limited capacity as they ramp up his workload. He was said to be kicking with the training staff late last week.

“Harrison Butker will go ahead and do a little bit today,” Reid said. “We’ll just play it by ear with that as we go.”

The Chiefs do have a contingency plan in place, should Butker not progress in the way they’re hoping. They signed Matthew Wright to the practice squad on Tuesday and will get him adequate repetitions this week. As for the team’s confidence level in Wright, well, they’re still working through that.

“Yeah, listen I don’t know other than his workout out here,” Reid said of Wright. “I haven’t been in a game with him. He had a good workout yesterday and you hope that transfers in. He has some experience. Dave (Toub) took a look at that too.”

[listicle id=136935]

4 ruled out, 1 questionable in Colts vs. Chiefs

Here are the players with injury designations for the Week 3 matchup.

The Indianapolis Colts (0-1-1) and Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) released their injury report with designations Friday ahead of the Week 3 game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

In total, four players were ruled out due to injuries and one player is listed as questionable for the matchup. Here’s a look at the players with injury designations entering Sunday’s game:

Dave Toub provides update on Chiefs K Harrison Butker’s ankle injury

It sounds like it will likely be Matt Ammendola for another week as #Chiefs K Harrison Butker continues to nurse an ankle sprain.

For the second consecutive day of practice, the Kansas City Chiefs will be without starting K Harrison Butker due to an ankle injury.

Speaking to reporters ahead of practice on Thursday, Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub provided an update on Butker’s ankle injury and recovery.

“(Harrison) Butker is working his butt off,” Toub explained. “He is in there and he’s attacking (rehab) just like he attacks practice and everything else. That’s his personality. He’s doing everything he can to get back. Rick (Burkholder) and his staff are doing a good job of getting the swelling out. The swelling was really bad in his ankle, it went all the way up and the blood went all the way down to his toes. It was pretty ugly. So, they’re getting the swelling out of his foot. He just needs time to get that thing healed up.”

While Butker is clearly getting after it in the rehab process, even working on some kicks with Rick Burkholder and the training staff, the team is taking the cautious approach here. They want him as close to 100% as possible before he returns and that means getting all of the swelling out of his plant foot.

“It’s killing Butker,” Toub said. “He doesn’t like to miss anything. He certainly doesn’t want to see somebody else doing his job. He’s going to get back as soon as he can.”

While there is a slim possibility that Butker could get out there this week, it sounds as if it’s trending toward Matt Ammendola being the Chiefs’ kicker for another week. He made all of his kicks in Week 2 against the Chargers out at Arrowhead Stadium and he continues to build chemistry with his new teammates in practice.

“Matt (Ammendola) is here, he’s going through practice,” Toub said. “If (Harrison) Butker can’t go.

Should he play in Week 3, Ammendola will get the luxury of playing inside at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. In a short time, he’s developed quite a bit of trust with Toub, who says Ammendola has made kicks of 53, 56 and 60 yards in either practice or his tryout with the team.

“He’s got the range, he can do it,” Toub said of Ammendola. “We’ve got full confidence in him. He’s got a lot more reps with (Tommy Townsend and James Winchester), so he’s feeling more comfortable.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=136806]

Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides injury updates ahead of Wednesday practice

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid confirmed that two players won’t practice as the team begins practicing ahead of Week 3 vs. the #Colts.

Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided his pre-practice injury report on Wednesday.

After several players were banged up during the Week 2 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, only one of the players injured during that game won’t practice at the start of the week. It also looks like the Chiefs could be trending toward another week of Matt Ammendola as their kicker.

“As far as injuries go, the guys that won’t practice today are (Harrison) Butker and (Mike) Danna,” Reid said. “Butker has the ankle (injury) and Danna has the calf (injury).”

Danna suffered a calf injury late in the Week 2 game against the Chargers. He was ruled out quickly, which is hardly a good sign. Kansas City also signed DE Benton Whitley to the 53-man roster from the Rams practice squad. That might indicate a long absence and perhaps an injured reserve stay for Danna.

As for Butker’s ankle injury, Reid spoke a little bit more about that situation.

“Yeah, so they’re tricky,” Reid explained. “I’m not necessarily saying that it’s a high ankle sprain, it’s (just) an ankle sprain. But it’s a matter of getting the swelling out and letting the tendons there heal up a little bit.”

Reid mentioned on Monday that the team was confident in Matt Ammendola, should they need to rely on him again in Week 3. He performed quite well in Week 2, making all of his kicks save for a poor kickoff late in the game.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=136862]

Chiefs should be comfortable playing Matt Ammendola again if Harrison Butker needs more time

If Harrison Butker is still dealing with swelling in his injured ankle, the #Chiefs should have no concerns relying on Matt Ammendola in Week 3.

If the Kansas City Chiefs need to stick with their backup kicker in Week 3, they should feel comfortable doing so.

Harrison Butker sat out with an ankle injury in the Week 2 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on “Thursday Night Football.” The veteran was replaced by third-year NFL kicker Matt Ammendola, who was signed to the practice squad just last week. Ammendola was elevated to the 53-man roster from the practice squad ahead of the game and played 11 snaps on special teams.

While Ammendola needed assistance finding the Chiefs’ locker room ahead of the game, he needed no assistance finding his way on the scoreboard. He made a 19-yard field goal to tie the game at 17 in the third quarter. He then made a 31-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to give Kansas City a 10-point lead, which helped the team maintain a three-point lead in the game. Additionally, Ammendola was a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points.

He wasn’t half bad in the kickoff game either, which is something he struggled with last season with the Jets. Ammendola had six kickoffs for over 300 yards in total distance. Four of them were touchbacks and two of them were returned for 42 total yards by Chargers WR DeAndre Carter.

This was about as flawless of a kicking performance as you could have as a backup kicker. While his distance certainly wasn’t tested, the Chiefs should feel comfortable and confident if they need to use Ammendola again in Week 3. The goal should be getting Butker as close to 100% as possible before they get him back out on the field again. It’s a little easier to do that when you can sign someone like Ammendola to come in and kick in a pinch.

[listicle id=136684]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Chiefs K Harrison Butker restructures contract to free up cap space

The #Chiefs restructured Harrison Butker’s contract to free up needed cap space to make recent roster moves.

The Kansas City Chiefs had very little salary cap space entering Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season.

We expected that the team might make a cost-cutting move by the way of an extension or a contract restructure. They went the route of making a deal with a player currently on the roster.

As first reported by ESPN’s Field Yates, the Chiefs have restructured Harrison Butker’s contract. They converted approximately $2.2 million of his salary into a signing bonus, which creates nearly $1.5 million in cap space for the team in 2022. This should allow them to make the recent 53-man roster and practice squad signings without risking going over the salary cap.

This is really only a quick fix for Kansas City. Despite creating nearly $1.5 million in salary cap space, they likely still have less than $1 million in space. That’s from sending Trent McDuffie to injured reserve, signing Elijah Lee and Jack Cochrane to the 53-man roster and signing Corey Coleman, Dicaprio Bootle and Matt Ammendola to the practice squad. They’re all contributing factors to the team’s salary cap total.

As for Butker, he remains under contract through the 2024 NFL season. His cap hit will be slightly bigger in each of the next two seasons.

[listicle id=135910]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

WATCH: Justin Reid was mic’d up when he found out he’d be Chiefs’ kicker

#Chiefs S Justin Reid was conveniently mic’d up for his performance as the team’s emergency kicker in Week 1.

The Kansas City Chiefs shared a trailer for their upcoming episode of “The Franchise” and it revealed a fun moment from the team’s Week 1 game.

Justin Reid was mic’d up for the game and he was sitting on the bench talking with Juan Thornhill when long snapper James Winchester comes over to deliver the news.

“Hey, stay ready,” Winchester said. “Kicking. Butker, he did something to his ankle.”

Harrison Butker had rolled his ankle on the Chiefs’ opening kickoff and Reid was needed as an emergency kicker for the team. It was something that seemed like a joke in preseason and training camp, but became a reality very quickly as the season got started. Reid got off the bench and went over to Dave Toub and very casually says the following:

“Hey coach, you need me to do kickoff too?”

Toub’s response:

“Yes. . . You can kick off, right?”

“Yeah,” Reid says.

He got some work in on the sidelines with Tommy Townsend beforehand, most importantly getting their post-kick handshake down.

“Aye we’ve got to get our handshake down real quick,” Townsend said.

“OK, what are we doing,” Reid responded.

That was a smart move by Townsend to keep things light and keep Reid out of his head before his first PAT attempt, which he sent sailing through the uprights. Sure enough, he could kick off as well. He sent the first one booming 80 yards through the back of the endzone. Patrick Mahomes couldn’t even focus on the sideline because he was so impressed by it.

“Damn, he’s kicking the hell out of that ball,” Mahomes said. “Bro he kicked that thing through the uprights. J. Reid is kicking and he kicked it through the uprights.”

Episode 4 of season 3 “The Franchise” will be streaming on Thursday, September 22.

[listicle id=136254]

What was Chiefs S Justin Reid’s field goal range in Week 1?

Dave Toub says he trusted #Chiefs’ Justin Reid to kick a field goal in Week 1, but only at a certain distance. | from @EdEastonJr

The blowout 44-21 victory on Sunday for the Kansas City Chiefs sent a clear message to the rest of the league. Kansas City dominated all facets of the game, including special teams, during a moment where it seemed as if things would be bleak.

The Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker rolled his ankle in the first quarter after a kickoff leading him to temporarily leave the game. Safety Justin Reid, who had done some kicking during training camp and the preseason, filled in admirably. Reid stepped in to go one of two on PATs and booted several kick-offs deep into the endzone before Butker’s eventual return.

Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub commented on being comfortable with the prospect of Reid attempting a field goal during the game, but only at a certain distance.

“I told (Head Coach) Andy (Reid) during the game (that) if we had to keep going with him, I thought that if we got the ball on the 25-yard line, we’d be good with him,” said Toub. “Which would be a 43-yarder or so, yeah.”

Reid, who converted a field goal from 60 yards or more during practice, would’ve needed some time to prepare for a long-range attempt properly. Toub understood the risk, but wasn’t willing to put Reid out there for the 54-yard field goal made by Butker at the end of the first half. They had a contingency plan to leave the offense on the field if Butker was unable to return to the game.

“I mean, that’s as far back as I’d want to take him,” said Toub. “That’s why there was no thought in him hitting that long one. If we didn’t have (Harrison) Butker at that time, if we didn’t think we had Butker, we probably would’ve just went for it right there. I think that was a little bit too far out of his range right there, realistically.”

Reid likely won’t get much kicking work in Week 2, with the Chiefs adding former Jets K Matt Ammendola to the practice squad. It’s good, however, to know what he’s capable of should something happen in the future.

[listicle id=136254]

What was Chiefs S Justin Reid’s field goal range in Week 1?

Dave Toub says he trusted #Chiefs’ Justin Reid to kick a field goal in Week 1, but only at a certain distance. | from @EdEastonJr

The blowout 44-21 victory on Sunday for the Kansas City Chiefs sent a clear message to the rest of the league. Kansas City dominated all facets of the game, including special teams, during a moment where it seemed as if things would be bleak.

The Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker rolled his ankle in the first quarter after a kickoff leading him to temporarily leave the game. Safety Justin Reid, who had done some kicking during training camp and the preseason, filled in admirably. Reid stepped in to go one of two on PATs and booted several kick-offs deep into the endzone before Butker’s eventual return.

Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub commented on being comfortable with the prospect of Reid attempting a field goal during the game, but only at a certain distance.

“I told (Head Coach) Andy (Reid) during the game (that) if we had to keep going with him, I thought that if we got the ball on the 25-yard line, we’d be good with him,” said Toub. “Which would be a 43-yarder or so, yeah.”

Reid, who converted a field goal from 60 yards or more during practice, would’ve needed some time to prepare for a long-range attempt properly. Toub understood the risk, but wasn’t willing to put Reid out there for the 54-yard field goal made by Butker at the end of the first half. They had a contingency plan to leave the offense on the field if Butker was unable to return to the game.

“I mean, that’s as far back as I’d want to take him,” said Toub. “That’s why there was no thought in him hitting that long one. If we didn’t have (Harrison) Butker at that time, if we didn’t think we had Butker, we probably would’ve just went for it right there. I think that was a little bit too far out of his range right there, realistically.”

Reid likely won’t get much kicking work in Week 2, with the Chiefs adding former Jets K Matt Ammendola to the practice squad. It’s good, however, to know what he’s capable of should something happen in the future.

[listicle id=136254]

Chiefs S Justin Reid replaces K Harrison Butker after apparent ankle injury

#Chiefs K Harrison Butker was carted off the field with an ankle injury. Justin Reid is now the team’s kicker and is doing just fine.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a significant injury that they’re dealing with in the Week 1 game against the Arizona Cardinals.

After the team’s opening scoring drive, Harrison Butker slipped on the kickoff and rolled his ankle. He got up limping after the play and headed to the sideline with the training staff.

After a little time, Butker’s ankle swole up according to sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson and he was carted to the locker room. The team ruled him questionable to return to the game with a left ankle injury.

As a result, Justin Reid is now working as the team’s emergency kicker, he nailed an extra point in the preseason against the Bears.

Reid is already one-for-one on extra points in this game against the Cardinals. He also booted a kick out of the back of the endzone with a touchback.

[listicle id=136118]

[sendtonews_embed video_id=”5GvVLkO4Xu-2232407-7498″]